The Colours of Carnival in Barranquilla

A seldom visited city on the Atlantic coast, Barranquilla is the place to be during carnival in Colombia. Every year, the whole city just lives to dress up in bright outfits, celebrate its cultural heritage and dance to the rhythm of cumbia. After all, this is one of the biggest carnival celebrations in the world, second only to the one in Rio de Janeiro.

During four days of intense festivities, foreign and Colombian visitors join the locals to celebrate the country’s most important folkloric display. This year was no exception and the costumes, dances and music were out of this world. Again, I was lucky to be around to experience this colourful extravaganza; and although I didn’t dance in one of the parades as I did last year, I did enjoy watching the show from the sidelines. Here’s a selection of my favourite images from carnival in Barranquilla. I hope you like them!

One of my favourite things about carnival in Barranquilla is watching the different cumbia choreographies. I love the sweet rhythm of the music, the women dancing with their long skirts and the general happy look of everyone. It’s no wonder that this beautiful traditional dance has expanded all over the continent.

However, if i had to choose one favourite dance from all of them, I’d go with El Garabato — a typical dance from Barranquilla that portrays a confrontation between life and death. Personally, I find the music that accompanies this lively dance to be hypnotizing.

Also, I love that during carnival in Barranquilla everyone gets into the festive mood, from the little kids with their cute little outfits, to the young with their thirst for partying, to the older crowds who don’t miss the chance to revel just like before.

Now, when it comes to my favourite costumes and characters for this carnival season, I loved the congos with their colourful sequins outfits. Also, I love the Son de negro characters with their twitching gestures. And the one costume I won’t soon forget was the creepy baby! It was a very disturbing image, definitely not what a pregnant lady wants to see!

Bianca Bauza is a world citizen who spent almost four years traveling around South America and Europe. Her passions include photography, street art, outdoor sports, and cooking exotic dishes. She's now based in the Netherlands where she lives with her partner and young daughter. She still enjoys traveling, on her own or with her family, and is always looking for an opportunity to see new places.